


In a fistful of Dust

by themunak



Series: Fire of Our Hearts [2]
Category: Katekyou Hitman Reborn!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Daemons, Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-12-19
Updated: 2015-02-15
Packaged: 2018-03-02 05:34:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,086
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2801441
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/themunak/pseuds/themunak
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>There's a small ball of dust just inches away from his left hand. It's small, no larger than a golf ball, golden like someone had completely and thoroughly crushed a bar, and glitters even without any sources of light striking it directly. But most of all, it's <i>moving</i>, like sand moving about on the beach, like the flakes of a snow globe when shaken.</p><p>After so many years, he's never thought he'd ever see a sight like this again.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So uh, I wasn't going to post this until I finished "Embers in my soul" but uh. Here you go. The first chapter of what's to come after I'm done with Tsuna and Shizuka's coming-of-age story.
> 
> As a warning: this piece will be updated at a much slower pace. Chronologically, it takes place after "Embers in my soul", and thus contains spoilers for that fic. I want to avoid that, so I'm taking my time with the writing.
> 
> ETA: blueberry, you were asking something along these lines, and I gave you a really vague reply. This is going to be my proper answer!
> 
> 1/12/2015: Changed the title from "Treasures in our hearts" because I feel this is more appropriate.

The first anniversary of the end of the Representative Battles (and more importantly, the entire Arcobaleno System) is of course an important day, not just for the former Arcobaleno themselves, but also for everyone they've associated with. They're all _free_ , and there will be no more generations of Arcobaleno appearing in the future, and the last batch are already making leaps and bounds in their growth-- unlike the aging Verde had hypothesized, they're growing older in random spurts, and they don't have to wait decades to be adults again. The way he's going, now appearing as a boy in his tenth year, Reborn thinks he'll only need three to four more years until he's returned to the physical age he was at when he had been cursed.

There's no big celebration or gathering, but Reborn's seen Fon sparring with Hibari when he's supposed to be in Hong Kong, and he knows Colonello is in town to meet up with Ryohei.

He also knows that Gamma and the rest of the Giglio Nero-- plus the Gesso-- are planning on throwing a party for Yuni. He knows that Mammon, over in Italy, is getting paid twice as much as the rest of the Varia for a mission that they're currently on. He knows that Verde is in the United States, dealing with the American mafia and gleefully making a mockery of their technology, simply because he can, even if all he's been asked to do is provide weapons on par with the Italian families. He knows that Lal Mirch has been given the day off by Iemitsu (which has been rejected in the most spectacular fashion). Meanwhile, the Lackey is being treated like a king in his own family.

All in all, something associated with memories of no small amount of pain, hardship, and most importantly, _victory_.

Except when something else happens, and there's no logic to it.

(When had the Arcobaleno life ever been logical? Even now it still haunts them all.)

Reborn first notices _something_ going on in the afternoon, the exact time that Tsuna won his negotiations with Checker Face and the curse had been lifted.

There's a small ball of dust just inches away from his left hand. It's small, no larger than a golf ball, golden like someone had completely and thoroughly crushed a bar, and glitters even without any sources of light striking it directly. But most of all, it's _moving_ , like sand moving about on the beach, like the flakes of a snow globe when shaken.

After so many years, he's never thought he'd ever see a sight like this again.

Carefully, he cups the small cloud in his hands, but unlike expectations, it doesn't fall apart or slither back to the floor through his fingers. But at the same time, he cant actually feel it because it's not touching his skin at all-- it's only hovering just a few centimeters above his hands. Even so, there's no doubt in his mind as to what it is.

It's _Dust_ , the mythical stuff daemons are made of. Not so mythical to the Arcobaleno though, because he remembers it clearly from the Fated Day, all their daemons bursting into clouds of brilliant golden Dust immediately after the light that turned them into babies faded. There one moment, gone the next, and all they had left were the pacifiers around their necks, like chains around a dangerous convict. Or a noose around a man to be hanged, if Reborn wants to be disgustingly poetic and maudlin at the same time.

He supposes there's a good reason for him to be sentimental today, even if he actually wont allow himself to be.

Because _she's coming back_ , and she'd tease him mercilessly if she ever finds out about his current train of thought.

However, before he can let himself get too far into the blind joy of having his oldest friend again, he has to think of the implications of this: is she going to come back the same way she had before, or will she be completely different?

For that matter, is it really going to be _her?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A term and its definition for the uninitiated in His Dark Materials matters:
> 
> Dust: The term "Dust" in-canon comes from the Bible, specifically the Book of Genesis. Pullman (the series' author) relates Dust to dark matter. In one world in the actual HDM-verse, they used to be called Rusakov particles due to a scientist named Rusakov discovering them, if I'm remembering my HDM facts right. To be honest, I may not remember much, since I lost my copies of the books a while back and it's difficult to find them around here for some reason.
> 
> Since this is just KHR with daemons instead of a more in-depth crossover with HDM, I've messed with the concept a bit to suit the story. For example, in HDM canon Dust cant be seen with the naked eye, but in this fanfiction it can at certain times (such as during this chapter), and I took the gold color from the Golden Compass movie. But yes, daemons do turn into Dust when they die, so that's one thing that's retained.


	2. Chapter 2

When Reborn commissions Giannini to create a bullet-proof, Flame-proof, flame-proof, and _everything_ -proof container to accommodate his little ball of Dust, he doesn't expect to be put on a _waiting list_. Behind Colonello and Viper, no less, who have apparently started experiencing the very same thing and contacted the Vongola engineer for similar items.

A quick check with Fon-- still in town, so it doesn't take too long to find him-- confirms that it's indeed affecting all of the former Arcobaleno. Fon even shows Reborn his own Dust ball, procured from one of his gigantic sleeves, and mentions that it's been growing bit by bit as time goes on. Reborn checks his own, inelegantly shoved into a tote bag, and sure enough, it's closer to being a tennis ball than a golf ball.

He remembers Fon's daemon, a gutsy, rough little thing that represented classic Storm behavior more than her human ever could. He never got her real name because none of them used real names to refer to their daemons in public-- and for a few individuals, even themselves-- but she'd been a great friend to Reborn's own daemon ('Yinhui' literally means 'obscure', for fuck's sake, and Viper's daemon sported the unimpressive nickname of 'Indigo'). In fact, all of their daemons were friends of some degree towards each other, even if their humans hardly ever interacted like they were friends themselves-- her being friends with _Verde's_ own daemon was such an instance, and one that continues to irritate him to this day.

"It's so rare to see you even the slightest bit unnerved," Fon says suddenly after tucking his bit of Dust back into his sleeve, and Reborn has the overwhelming urge to shoot the knowing smile off his face. He just doesn't because Leon is his tote bag at the moment, and Fon would catch the bullet anyway. Or simply jump out of the way.

"We're dealing with the unknown," is Reborn's simple yet vague reply. He's not giving Fon the satisfaction of getting confirmation.

"True, true. And yet we have no choice but to watch it happen. I admit that I like that thought as much as you, but none of us are experts on Dust and _baohuzhe_." Fon actually uses the Chinese term for daemons right there, slipping into his native tongue at the very end of the sentence. Years ago, Reborn looked it up and saw that it was one of the many words that mean 'guardian' or 'protector'. It's rare to hear Fon do so, and Reborn's noticed that he only uses the term when he misses Yinhui _that_ badly.

They all miss their daemons, and some days are just worse than others.

Reborn just refuses to let it affect his duties.

"Call me if you find anything else," is all he says as he tugs on his fedora.

"Would you like me to bring Colonello along as well? I believe I've seen Falco around."

"He might as well come, since it concerns all of us."

After that's said and done, he contacts Lal Mirch. Even if she had instantly returned to her adult form, there's still no telling what's going on with her, and if she's being affected by whatever this is too-- and there's no use speculating when he can get the answer from the source herself.

Lal Mirch has always been a special case among the Arcobaleno for so many reasons, her daemon being one of them. He had burst into Dust like the rest of the daemons, but reformed moments later, looking shaken and unsure of himself, but most definitely _there_ , thus making Lal Mirch the only Arcobaleno to keep her daemon.

Like her scars and adult form, it's a sign of her incomplete curse. However, Thyme was still affected by the sudden upheaval of their lives. He didn't come back properly, because he returned to his human much thinner than before and sickly-looking-- if such a word can really be attributed to daemons. But he'd been less energetic and more subdued, and prone to tiring at random times, even without any kind of exercise. Sometimes he stared off to space, eyes unfocused, and needed some cajoling to snap out of it. And, in a few scares that Reborn will never _ever_ forget, leak small amounts of Dust from his fur. They happened only five times over the Arcobaleno years (and one more time during a _memorable_ event in the future that will never happen, right in front of a panicking Tsuna and co.), but they were still enough to make a lasting impression in everyone's minds.

But what made Lal and Thyme truly stand out was something that couldn't be seen, because it was their sudden Separation. It was discovered accidentally-- Lal was training (read: _tossing around_ ) CEDEF's newbies when one of them was discovered to be a spy sent by an enemy famiglia. He and his daemon ran for it, Lal and Thyme right on their heels.

The spies had ducked into the elevator, but not before Thyme jumped right in there with the intent to kill the enemy daemon. By the time it reached the ground floor, Thyme was spitting out the Dust that was left of the enemy daemon while its human lay dead at his paws, unable to live on without his soul.

And Lal Mirch was still stuck staring at the closed elevator doors, wondering what in the world was going on and why she wasn't feeling the usual stretch everyone felt when they got too far from their daemons.

News of _that_ spread like wildfire throughout the entire criminal underworld, and the only Arcobaleno who didn't pay Lal and Thyme a visit was Mammon, who was then still Viper to all of them. Even _Verde_ went to see what the fuss is all about and offered to study Thyme and the bond, but Lal offered to let him study his own body after getting large messy holes blown into it courtesy of her shotgun. Needless to say, Reborn would have loved it if he really did bite the bullet.

Ha, ha.

Reborn counts the rings, and despite the difference in timezones, Lal picks up after only three. Either she's actually working, or she's so bored with her enforced break that she just flipped Iemitsu the bird and got to work anyway. Reborn's willing to put money on the latter. No one makes Lal do anything she doesn't want to.

"Talk fast. I'm busy."

It's a lie considering what day it is, and they both know it, but it's tradition for her to be telling him this kind of thing whenever he calls her up because it's her way of telling him to get straight to the point.

And of course, he's going to annoy her just for the sake of it. "Ciaossu. How's Thyme?"

"He's fine," she replies, words coming out like the crack of Dino's whip before she falls silent for a few seconds. "Looking better than he'd been yesterday, even if he's still too thin. Something's happening, isn't there."

"Yes, but what it is, no one knows yet," Reborn allows. "We have some Dust, but not enough to see what will become of them."

"Meaning it's too early to tell." For a second all he hears is static, and that tells him that Lal's just snorted into the receiver.

"Let us worry about that. Keep watch of Thyme, and let me know if there are any chances."

"He's _my_ daemon, Reborn. You just keep an eye out for yours."

Just before Lal hangs up on him properly and leaves him only the dial tone to listen to, Reborn swears he can hear Thyme yelling in the background, "When Alba comes back, tell her it's about damn time!"

Of course he'd say that. He's been complaining for years about being the only daemon left among the Arcobaleno. And he hasn't been subtle about his displeasure over his condition either-- Reborn knows for a fact that it has a high chance of driving Lal up the wall whenever Thyme opens his mouth to whine, grumble and complain.

Reborn taps again at his cellphone to call and commission Shouichi and Spanner, because he's pretty sure that Giannini is going to make the same thing over and over, and Reborn would rather be damned before having the exact same product as Colonello.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally got some Arcobaleno daemons out, even if it's just their codenames. Their forms will be revealed in later chapters, but I'm not sure if I'll insert their real names in this fic. I know for a fact that Fon and 'Yinhui' will feature in yet another sidestory that's in its planning stages, but that's for much, _much_ later.
> 
> In addition, in this 'verse, Iemitsu got the inspiration of the CEDEF theme naming from Nono and his Guardians' pastry codenames, and the actual theme from Lal and Thyme, since 'Thyme' is also a codename.


End file.
